Mahara is an open source portfolio platform that is available on a subscription basis. Organisations and individuals can receive access to the code to use Mahara and contribute to it.
Service providers are available to support organisations who wish to outsource some of its operations.
The main elements of the subscription for organisations are:
- Banded model: Pricing is based on usage bands to allow for adding of a certain number of additional accounts without incurring an immediate update in fees.
- Based on the number of active accounts over the preceding 12 months (or an estimated use over the next 12 months for organisations not yet using Mahara) instead of the total number of registered accounts. In this, we acknowledge that usage varies over time and also that some organisations create accounts automatically that are then not always used.
- Standard subscription and enterprise subscription options to cater to organisations requiring additional support.
- Self-hosting or support by a service provider are still possible to give organisations flexibility and continued sustainability for their operation.
- License remains GNU GPL v. 3, giving you the freedoms to inspect, customise, and build on.
Individuals can also join the Mahara community and contribute to the further development of the portfolio platform. We recognise that some contributors may not be members of an institution that (already) has a Mahara subscription. Mahara being open source, we still want to make it possible for individuals to contribute.
Subscription plans and services
There are two plans available for organisations
| Feature | Standard plan | Enterprise plan |
| Access to one new version release of Mahara per year | ||
| Access to maintenance releases | ||
| Access to code base and download packages | ||
| One production environment for one Mahara site* |
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| Associated non-production environments |
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| Make local customisations | ||
| Log bug reports | ||
| Propose new or changed features | ||
| Receive initial assessment report for bug reports and feature suggestions | ||
| Contribute bug fixes and new features | ||
| Participate in community meetings | ||
| Vote on the Mahara product roadmap | ||
| Access to community forums | ||
| Access to the wiki / knowledge base | ||
| Access to the Mahara manual | ||
| Access to the demo site | ||
| Issue resolution of up to 20 hours per year | ||
| Relationship manager - quarterly meetings | ||
| Video library for commonly used features (available early 2024) |
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| Self-paced training for administrators (available early 2024) | ||
| Self-paced training for instructors (available early 2024) | ||
| Security releases for unsupported versions of Mahara | Add-on | Add-on |
* If the Subscriber only has non-Production Sites, then the non-Production Site with the highest number of Active Account Holders is deemed to be a Production Site, and Subscription Fees shall be charged at the normal rate for that site.
Details for subscription plans and services
Standard Subscription Plan
The Subscription Services for the Standard Subscription Plan are comprised of the following.
Mahara Releases
We will provide to you with access to any Maintenance Releases and New Version Releases of Mahara during the Subscription Term.
Mahara is licensed to you under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation (version 3) ('GPL'). The terms of the GPL allows you to:
- Access and download the code base of Mahara (including any Maintenance Releases or New Version Releases)
- Make local customisations to your Mahara instance
Subscriber Portal
During the Subscription Term, we will grant you and your Representatives a non-exclusive right to access and use our Subscriber Portal, where you can:
- Access and download New Version releases and Maintenance Releases
- Access our latest Documentation (excluding the Mahara manual)
- Log bug reports and initial assessment reports
- Contribute bug fixes and new features
- Propose new or changed features
- Receive invitations to participate in developer meetings
- Vote on the Mahara product roadmap
We may update, modify, and change the offering on the Subscriber Portal from time to time. Your access to and use of any new or modified features or functionality within the Subscriber Portal will be governed by the Agreement.
Forums, Manual, and Demo site
We will grant you and your Representatives access and use of the following, both during and after the Subscription Term:
- Community forums
- Mahara manual
- Demo site
Enterprise Subscription Plan
The Subscription Services for the Enterprise Subscription Plan are comprised of the following.
All of the features of the Standard Subscription Plan, plus:
- Issue Resolution
- Relationship Manager
Limited Support Services
See Schedule B of the Subscription Terms.
Relationship Manager
Once in each Quarter of the Subscription Term, your Contract Manager shall be invited to a meeting to monitor and review the performance of the Subscription Services under the Agreement (Quarterly Meeting). These Quarterly Meetings shall be minuted by Catalyst’s Contract Manager and copies of those minutes shall be circulated to you.
Before each Quarterly Meeting, your Contract Manager shall notify our Contract Manager, and vice versa, of any problems relating to the provision of the Subscription Services for discussion. At each Quarterly Meeting, the parties may agree a plan to address such problems. Progress in implementing the plan shall be included in the agenda for the next Quarterly Meeting.
'Quarter' means each of the three (3) month periods, beginning on the Commencement Date.
Add-on Services
The following ‘Add-on Services’ can be included in the Subscription Services.
Extended Security Support for Unsupported Versions
If the version of Mahara you are using falls out of support during your Subscription Term and you cannot upgrade to a supported version of Mahara, you can purchase extended security support for your unsupported version of Mahara.
Pricing bands
Mahara subscriptions are annual subscriptions.
The fees in this table are valid for subscriptions with commencement date of 1 September 2024 or later.
Fees are stated in US Dollars as at 1 September 2024, exclusive of any applicable Taxes.
| Band | Number of Active Account Holders |
Standard plan (US Dollars) |
Enterprise plan (US Dollars) |
| 1 | 0-20 | $250 | not available |
| 2 | 21-300 | $1,900 | $6,000 |
| 3 | 301-1,000 | $4,400 | $8,500 |
| 4 | 1,001-2,500 | $6,800 | $11,500 |
| 5 | 2,501-5,000 | $9,400 | $14,000 |
| 6 | 5,001-10,000 | $12,500 | $18,700 |
| 7 | 10,001-30,000 | $18,700 | $30,900 |
| 8 | 30,001-50,000 | $31,200 | $40,000 |
| 9 | More than 50,000 | Please contact us. | Please contact us. |
We are prepared to issue invoices in Australian Dollars, British Pounds, Euros, and New Zealand Dollars at the Catalyst.Net exchange rate on the date the invoice is issued.
How to find out the number of active accounts? As site administrator go to 'Administration menu → People → People search → Advanced options → Last login drop-down menu → People who have logged in since → Change the year to last year'.
Purchase subscription via the Mahara team
You can purchase a subscription directly from the Mahara team at Catalyst.Net. See the Subscription Terms for our standard terms and conditions.
The link will take you to a form to fill in your organisational details. You will provide the email address and the name of the person at your organisation who is authorised to sign the Agreement. They don't need to be the one who fills in the form though.
Purchase subscription via a Business Partner
You can purchase a subscription via a Mahara Business Partner who is authorised to sell subscriptions, which may make it easier for your organisation if they operate in the same country or region you are located in. Check for the 'incl. subscription' in their listing.
See the Subscription Terms for our standard terms and conditions.